The Not So New Girl
by Charlee B
Summary: When Sam's old childhood friend Charlie returns, she brings a storm of emotions with her. Derek might be falling for her. Could she be the key to bringing Casey and Sam together?
1. The Arrival

The Arrival

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Life with Derek. I, like RockerChick13, also wish that I could own Michael Seater. I'd also like to mention that this story WILL NEVER EVER be a Dasey story. I am completely against it. I personally thing SAM and Casey should be together. If you are a fan of this Dasey rubbish, you should not read this story. Thank you.

Charlie Martinez walked down the hall, searching desperately for Sam's face. She knew he would be happy to see her. She wanted also to meet this Casey girl he constantly wrote about in his letters. _She's really smart and beautiful, _he wrote. When she spotted a familiar face near a classroom and snuck up behind him and covered his eyes with her hands and said, "Guess who?"

Sam turned around and couldn't believe his eyes. "Charlie?" he exclaimed. He picked her up and gave her a big hug.

Meanwhile, Derek couldn't believe his eyes either. Charlie had long black hair and deep blue eyes. And a really good figure. How could his best friend not tell him he knew such a babe?

"Oh my God!" Sam said, putting Charlie down. "What are you doing here?"

"I moved back!" Charlie said. "Livin' with my uncle now."

"I just got your letter yesterday," Sam said. "I'm sorry about your folks."

Derek loudly cleared his throat. "Oh," Sam said, nearly forgetting that his best friend was standing right there. "This is Derek," he said as he pointed to Derek. "Do you remember him?"

_Wait a sec_, Derek thought. _I know **her**? _"Oh yeah," Charlie said, smiling, making Derek's stomach do a back flip. "I met you at Sam's 5th birthday party."

"Charlie has spent the last ten years in Argentina," Sam said. "That's where her parents are from."

"Nice," Derek said, his eyes glued to Charlie. He couldn't believe he didn't remember her.

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A couple hours later, Charlie walked into the busy cafeteria. She couldn't see Sam or Derek, so she decided to sit at a table where a girl with long brown hair was, all by herself.

"Hey," Charlie said. "Can I sit here?"

"Sure," the girl replied.

"I'm Charlie Martinez, by the way," Charlie said. "I'm a junior. I moved here form Argentina. I used to go to private school. This place is really different."

"I went to private girls school," the girl said. "Then my mom got married and I had to change schools."

"Bummer," Charlie said.

"I'm Casey," the girl said. "Casey MacDonald. I'm a sophomore."

"Wait," Charlie said. "_You're_ Casey MacDonald?"

"You've heard of me?" Casey said, sounding surprised.

"Sort of. It's a long story."

"Hey Charlie!" said a voice coming from behind her. It was Sam, followed by Derek. They came over and sat next to her.

"Casey, what are you doing here?" Derek asked, sounding annoyed.

"She was sitting here and I came over and sat with her," Charlie said. "Do you know her?"

"She's my stepsister," Derek said. "Unfortunately. Where's your little friend Emily?"

"I don't know," said Casey.

"You can hang with us till you find her," Charlie said. "If you want."

"I can?" Casey said.

"She can?" Derek said.

"Yes," Charlie and Sam said simultaneously.

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There you go. That's chapter one. Remember reviews feed my imagination so please, please, pretty pretty please, REVIEW!


	2. The Wonderful World of Instant Messaging

Chapter two 

**Disclaimer: **You guys know the drill.

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"So how do you know Sam and Derek?" Casey asked Charlie, as they left school later that day.

"I've known Sam since he was born," Charlie replied. "Our parents were really good friends. I met Derek once at a birthday party."

"So what brings you back here?" Casey said.

"The law," Charlie said. Casey looked puzzled so Charlie explained. "My parents died a few weeks ago, and their will said I go live with my uncle, so here I am."

"Oh," Casey said sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

"Thanks," Charlie said. "I think I'm better off here anyway. There's just too many painful memories in Argentina, you know?"

"Yeah," Casey said, as they continued walking. "Do you have any siblings?"

"I had a brother, but he died when I was 14."

"Oh," Casey said.

"It's okay," Charlie said. "I've gotten used to it."

"If you want any siblings," Casey said. "Feel free to take some of mine."

The girls laughed. "It must be pretty crazy having going from a family of three to a family of seven, uh?" Charlie asked.

"You have no idea," Casey said. "How did you know that?"

"Sam told me in one of his letters," Charlie said. "That Derek's dad got married and that he didn't like it. Derek, I mean. Not Sam."

"Right," Casey said, giggling. "Your uncle's picking you up?"

"No," Charlie said. "This is my ride." She pointed toward a red Mini Cooper beside them.

"That's _your _car?" Casey said, flabbergasted. "It's sooo cute!"

"Thanks," Charlie said. "You wanna lift home?"

Casey looked surprised by the offer. She barely knew this girl. And plus, she was trying really hard not to like her. After all, she looked a little too friendly with Sam for Casey's liking. "Um," Casey said. "I don't know…"

"He's not my boyfriend," Charlie said, smiling.

"What? Who?" Casey asked, confused.

"Sam," Charlie said.

"Why would I care?" Casey said nervously.

"Because you like him," Charlie said. "I can tell. You always look at your feet first before talking to him. It's a sign."

"You've known me one day and you've already come to that conclusion?" Casey whispered. "Is it that obvious?"

"Yeah, sweetie," Charlie said, laughing. "But don't worry, I don't think he knows. So how about that lift?"

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_**ArgentinaChica76: **hey, lover boy. How's it going?_

It was eight thirty, Charlie had finished her homework and her uncle had gone out for the night, so she decided to IM some friends.

_**SamTheMan32: **fine and u? And by the way, don't call me lover boy. _

_**ArgentinaChica76: **fine, lover boy. I gave ur girlfriend a lift home today. She's really nice. _

_**SamTheMan32: **Casey is not my girlfriend. _

_**ArgentinaChica76: **who said I was talking about Casey? ;)_

_**SamTheMan32: **Very sneaky. _

_**ArgentinaChica76: **sneaky's my middle name, Sammy. _

_**SamTheMan32: **I thought ur middle name was Rose lol. _

_**ArgentinaChica76: **I've got 2. So when are u gonna ask her out?_

_**SamTheMan32: **Who?_

_**ArgentinaChica76: **Casey, u dingbat. _

_**SamTheMan32: **I don't know. Ur not going to shove me at her now that ur here, are u?_

_**ArgentinaChica76: **Honestly, Sam I thought u knew me. Of course I'm gonna! _

_**SamTheMan32: **Derek wouldfreak of he knew. _

_**ArgentinaChica76: **we just won't tell him, will we? Do u know Casey's email address?_

_**SamTheMan32:** caseymacdonald22. Why?_

_**ArgentinaChica76:** I didn't actually expect u to know it, but okay. I want to chat with her that's why. Be right back. _

Charlie quickly added Casey and to her delight, she was online.

_**ArgentinaChica76:** hey Casey. It's Charlie. What's up?_

_**Casey22:** hey Charlie. I'm good. How did u get my email address?_

_**ArgentinaChica76:** Sam._

_**Casey22:** He knows my email address? Where did he get it?_

_**ArgentinaChica76:** beats me. Be right back. _

_**ArgentinaChica76:** guess what lover boy? Ur lover girl is online, lol. _

_**SamTheMan32:** Really?_

_**ArgentinaChica76:** Yup. She wants to know where u got her email address. _

_**SamTheMan32:** YOU TOLD HER I KNEW HER EMAIL ADDRESS?_

_**ArgentinaChica76:** yup. _

_**SamTheMan32:** tell her Derek gave it to me in case I needed help with my homework._

_**ArgentinaChica76:** that's the dumbest excuse I've ever heard, but okay. Be right back. _

_**ArgentinaChica76:** he said Derek gave it to him in case he ever needed help with his homework._

_**Casey22:** oh. Ok then. _

_**ArgentinaChica76:** sorry got to go. "Criminal Minds" is on in 5. Do u want a lift to school tomorrow?_

_**Casey22: **sure. Bye. See u tomorrow. _

_**SamTheMan32:** bye._

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The next morning, Casey got up showered, ate breakfast and at quarter to eight, someone knocked at the front door. Edwin answered it.

"Hi," Charlie said. "I'm Charlie."

Edwin didn't answer. He just stood there, starring.

"I'm here to pick up Casey," she continued. "I'm giving her a lift to school."

Casey walked into the room. "Oh. Hey," she said.

"You ready?" Charlie asked. Casey nodded and grabbed her bag. "I'm leaving, mom!" she yelled.

"Have a nice day at school!" a voice yelled from upstairs. Then Derek came down the stairs. "Oh," he said seeing Charlie. "Hi."

"Hey yourself," Charlie said, smiling. "You wanna lift to school too?"

"Sure," he said and grabbed his bag. "I call shotgun!" Casey yelled and sprinted out the door.

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**Thank you for reading my story. Please REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!**


	3. The Movie

The Movie

**Disclaimer: **I do not ownLife with Derek or its characters. Small reference to the episode "The Wedding". Thanks to all who have reviewed.

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"Hey guys, I got this great idea during biology class today," Charlie announced at lunch a week later, as she put her tray between Sam and Derek. "Where's Casey?"

"Like hell we know," Derek said, rolling his eyes. "She's probably looking for Emily."

"What's with this Emily girl anyway?" Charlie asked.

"Beats me," Derek said. "All I know is that she's my neighbour and that she has huge crush on me."

"Is she avoiding Casey or something?" Charlie asked.

"She probably found some new friends," Derek said.

"That's a little mean," Charlie said. "Dumping your friend like that."

"This is Casey we're talking about here," Derek said.

"So?"

"I wouldn't have made friends with her in the first place," Derek retorted.

"You're her stepbrother, you're not supposed to like her," Charlie said.

"No one does."

"I do," Charlie said, fuming.

"So anyway," Sam said. "What's your great idea, Charlie?"

"Right," Charlie said, ending her argument with Derek. "I'm gonna make a movie."

"Really?" Derek said, fondly remembering his own movie-making experience, when he filmed Casey's aunt's wedding and made out with her cousin Victoria. "I didn't know you made movies."

"Oh yeah," Charlie said. "I wrote a script a while ago, but unfortunately, it's in English and it's hard to find English-speaking actors in Argentina."

"That's pretty cool," Sam said. "Where are you gonna hold the auditions?"

"I'm thinking about asking the principal if I can have them in the auditorium on Friday. I'll put the flyers up tomorrow."

"You need a director?" Derek asked.

"I direct my own movies," Charlie said. "But I could use an assistant director."

"What does an assistant director do?"

"Basically the same thing as the director, minus yelling "Cut!" and "Action!". And you can't sit in my chair," Charlie said.

"I still get to boss people around though?"

"Pretty much," Charlie said.

"Cool," Derek said nodding. "I'm in."

"You're hired," Charlie said. "You can start by getting me a cookie."

Derek stared at her blankly.

"I'm serious," Charlie said. Derek got up and made his way toward the cafeteria line. "You gonna audition, Sammy?"

"I don't think so," Sam said.

"Why not?"

"Cause acting isn't my thing," Sam replied.

"Have you ever tried?"

"No."

"Then how do you know you're not any good?" Charlie asked, smiling. "It can't hurt to try."

"What's it about?"

"It's about a girl named Christine who moves in with her dad when her mom leaves to travel with work. Her sister, Sarah is really smart and goes to this special school in New Jersey for brilliant kids. She already lived with her dad. Christine was very popular at her old school in Boston. Sarah decides to use her sister as a guinea pig for a social studies class. Christine thinks that guys care about what's on the inside, nit how you look. Sarah thinks her sister is naïve so she tries to prove her theory. Christine must dress more casual, wear glasses and no makeup at her new school, and see if the same guys who asked her out before will even if she's dresses different. But she ends up falling in love with her new friend, Dylan, who really sees who she is."

"Cool," Sam said.

"So you gonna audition," Charlie asked again.

"Give me one good reason why I should."

"Cause when I told Casey about before," Charlie explained. "She thought it was a great idea and that she was gonna audition for the role of Christine."

"So?"

"There are a couple of kissing scenes between Christine and Dylan."

"I…I guess it couldn't hurt to try out," Sam said.


	4. Auditions

Auditions

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Life with Derek or its characters. Note: Some names and last names (the principal and Sam) are entirely made up and so is where they live, for the record.

"In conclusion, this movie would be great publicity for the school," Charlie said to Mr. Gibson, the school's principal. It was Wednesday after school, and Charlie was trying to get Mr. Gibson to let her use the auditorium for auditions and the halls and classrooms for shooting of her movie.

"How so?" Mr. Gibson asked sternly.

"Last night, while I was surfing the Net, I came across an ad for the Canadian Youth Film Festival, which every year travels from city to city. This year, it's in Toronto, which isn't very far away. They have a contest in which young filmmakers send in their movies. The finalists' movies are screened in front of anyone who wants to come, plus the judges, who decide who wins the grand prize of 10 000$ worth of filming equipment! The school would be mentioned in the credits, and everyone would see what a fine job you're doing with the school…"

"All right," Mr Gibson said. "You can have the auditorium Friday from three-thirty until five o'clock. We'll discuss you're schedule for filming later on."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mr Gibson," Charlie squeaked, nearly jumping out of her chair.

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"Hey Mr. Assistant Director," Charlie said the next morning, walking towards where Derek and Sam were standing.

Derek turned around and said, "Yeah?"

"I've got an assignment for you," Charlie said. "Put up these flyers around school. Use your 'charm'", she said making quote signs with her fingers. "To get people to come and audition tomorrow."

"Yes mam," Derek said as she handed him the pile of flyers. "See you guys later."

"Hey Charlie," said a voice coming from behind them. It was Casey. "Hey Sam," she said, slightly blushing.

"Hey," he replied. "Ummm…I'm gonna go help Derek with those flyers. Later." And he walked away in the direction that Derek had gone.

"So…what's up?" Charlie asked.

"Nothing much. You?" Casey replied.

"I'm using your step brother for slave labour," Charlie said, nodding.

"Nice," Casey said giggling. "How's that?"

"He's my assistant director for my movie," Charlie said. "So far, I've gotten him to buy me a cookie and put up flyers."

"Cool," Casey said.

"Hey what's with your friend Emily?" Charlie asked as they walked down the hall towards her locker.

"Nothing. Why?" Casey asked.

"You seem to always be looking for her. Is she avoiding you or something?"

"No. The last couple of days she's had to work harder cause her grades are slipping. But she'll come to watch me audition tomorrow."

"Cool," Charlie said. The bell rang. "Gotta go. See ya later."

"Bye," Casey said.

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"Okay everybody," Charlie said into the microphone. It was Friday afternoon, and auditions were about to begin. She was surprised at the turn out. There were at least 50 people there. "As the flyers said, you can audition for the part of Christine, Sarah and Dylan. The rest of the parts will be distributed to people who auditioned but didn't get the leads. You'll have to recite a couple of lines."

Charlie got off stage and sat in her director's chair, a present from her mother on her 13th birthday, which was placed next to Derek. One by one, people got up on stage and auditioned. An hour and a half later, Charlie was glad it was over. Only four people were any good: a sophomore guy named John Baker, a senior girl named Christy Hawkins and, surprisingly enough, Casey and Sam.

"Wow," Derek said as he and Charlie exited the auditorium. "They sucked."

"Not all of them," Charlie argued.

"Who was good, then?" Derek asked, smiling his evil yet charming smile.

"John Baker, Christy Hawkins, Casey and Sam."

"Well…I guess…that's still only four people out of 63."

"We've got to pick who does what now," Charlie said.

"We?" Derek said.

"Yes we. You don't want to help me?" Charlie said, giving him puppy eyes.

"Fine, fine. I'll help you. Come over to my house and we'll talk it over."

"Okay."

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On Monday morning, Charlie posted a poster near her homeroom class:

**Thanks to all who auditioned for my movie, "Skin Deep". Here are the all the parts and the people who will be playing them. If you would like to help out with costumes, make up, set design, etc., please contact my assistant director, Derek Venturi ASAP. And for the following people, please contact Derek Venturi to receive your scripts. PLEASE DO NOT FORGET!**

_**Christine Harper- Casey MacDonald**_

_**Dylan Miller- Sam Weyman**_

_**Sarah Harper- Christy Hawkins**_

_**Mimi Sinclair- Andrea Del Rossi**_

_**Josh Arnold- John Baker….**_

It continued until every single part in the entire movie was given out.

"Yeah!" Casey shrieked, coming up from behind Derek and Charlie. Then she gave Charlie a big hug. "You didn't pick me just because I'm your friend, did you?" she asked.

"No, we chose you because you were good!" Charlie said.

"We?" Casey said, confused. "You and who?"

"Me and Derek," Charlie replied.

"Derek?"

"Yeah," Derek said. "And for the record, I was against the whole Sam-and-Casey-kissing thing. When you film it, I'm taking a sick day."

"Can't handle the love, Mr. Venturi?" Charlie said playingly, making Casey turn red like a tomato.

"My stomach can't handle it," Derek said.

"Ha ha ha," Charlie said, and stuck out her tongue at Derek.


	5. Action!

Chapter Five: Action!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Life with Derek or its characters. Sorry for the long wait. My computer broke again!!

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"Wait," Casey said as Derek walked away. "What?"

"What what?" Charlie said, confused.

"There's a kissing scene?"

"Yeah," Charlie replied. "I thought you knew that."

"I didn't!" Casey cried.

"Well now you do," Charlie said. "I've got to go to English class. Don't forget to get your script from your brother."

"But-", Casey began, but it was useless. Charlie was already half way down the hall.

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A couple of days later, Charlie got to school early to look for locations to film her movie. To her surprise, she found Casey in the library.

"You always go to school this early?" Charlie asked.

"Oh hey," Casey said. "Pretty much."

"Why?"

"School work," Casey said as Charlie took a seat next to her.

"Don't you do your homework after school?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah," Casey said. "But I like to be ahead of my work."

"Don't you ever just relax and have fun?" Charlie said.

"You sound like Derek," Casey said.

"Oh," Charlie said. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Sometimes," Casey said. Both girls laughed.

The librarian gave them a stern look.

"I think we should take this outside," Charlie said. They both got up from their seats and went into the hall.

"I should warn you," Casey said.

"About what?" Charlie asked.

"About Derek," Casey said seriously.

"Derek? Why?"

"Cause he's likes you," Casey said.

"That's sweet of him," Charlie said.

"I don't think you get it," Casey frowned. "Derek's a major womanizer. Every girl in this school likes him. Even my best friend does. Don't fall for his charm."

"Well," Charlie said with a smile, "I'm not every girl. Your brother's cute and all, but he's not my type."

"Good."

"Oh by the way," Charlie said. "We start practicing for the movie after school."

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After school, all the cast and crew were assembled in the gym. The set decorators were busy building Christine's "bedroom", the costume designers were sitting at a table with sketches and meters of fabric, and Derek was supervising the rehearsal of the actors. Things were looking great. Charlie smiled. Everything was turning out great. But she couldn't help the sadness that she was feeling. She wanted so badly for her parents to be able to see this. Her thoughts were put on hold when she felt a hand tap her shoulder.

"Hey," Derek said. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Charlie replied. "I'm good."

"We've got a problem though," Derek said. "Andrea Del Rossi is complaining about not having enough lines."

"I'm on it," Charlie said, smiling.

"Andrea," Charlie called as she walked over to where Andrea and the others were rehearsing. Derek was right on her heals. "Derek said you've got a problem with my script."

"Yeah," Andrea said, sounding annoyed. "Mimi is an important character in this movie. She should have more lines. I want more lines!"

"Look honey," Charlie said, putting her hands on her hips. "Mimi is a filler character. She's just a sidekick. She doesn't need that many lines. This is my movie. I'm open to suggestions and all, but I can't add lines to everyone who's unhappy. The movie would never end. How about I get you an extra special costume to compensate? Would that work for you?"

"Yeah," Andrea said, crossing her arms.

"But if you had just given me the part of Christine like I deserved, instead of to Klutzilla, we wouldn't have this problem," Andrea muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Derek said.

"I said," Andrea replied, turning towards Derek. "If I had gotten the part I wanted, instead of Klutzilla, we wouldn't have this problem. She only gave her the part cause they're friends!"

"If you were actually a good actress, then we would have given you the part." Derek said, crossing his arms. "Casey can actually act. Charlie knows what she's doing. Her script is great. If you don't like it, you know where the door is."

Andrea turned around and stomped back towards the rest of the cast.

"Hey," Charlie said. "Thanks."

"No problem," Derek said, smiling.

Charlie blushed.


	6. The Dance

Chapter six: The Dance

**I do not own Life with Derek…I promise.**

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Over the next three weeks, the sets were all made, the actors had memorised their lines, and the costumes were ready. They were ready to start filming.

Charlie was exhilarated. She couldn't believe she had only been here 5 weeks and all of this had happened. She had lots of new friends and her grades were great. Things were finally looking up.

When she arrived at school, she noticed a group of girls standing around the announcements board.

"What's going on?" she asked Casey.

"It's the Sophomore Dance!" Casey said gleefully.

"Am I supposed to be excited?" Charlie said sarcastically, folding her arms.

"Well ya!" Casey said. "Dances are fun."

"No," Charlie said. "Dances are lame."

"Come on!" Casey said. "Dances may be lame in Argentina, but they're fun in Canada!"

"Dances are internationally lame. Sorry, Case. Plus, look." Charlie said as she pointed to the poster. "The dance is for 'sophomore students only. All other students who wish to come must be accompanying a sophomore student.' "

"Well…," Casey said. "I'm sure we can find you a date! Lots of sophomore guys will want to go with a junior girl!"

"Let it go, Casey," Charlie said. "I'm not going."

"Fine," Casey said. "But this isn't over, Charlie Martinez. I am going to convince you to go, one way or another!"

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"So," Charlie said as she approached Sam's locker at the end of the day. "Did you ask Casey to the dance yet?"

"Who says I'm gonna?" Sam retorted.

"I say," Charlie replied. "She's right over there with her friend Emily. Go!" She shoved Sam in Casey's direction.

"Hey," Sam said nervously.

"Hey," Casey replied, blushing.

"Um," Emily said. "I think I forgot my book in math class. Bye!" She walked away.

"Hey," Charlie called out to Emily. "Did he ask her yet?"

"What?" Emily said as she walked up to Charlie.

"Hi, I'm Charlie," Charlie said. "Did Sam ask Casey to the dance yet?"

"Oh, you're Charlie?" Emily said. "Uh, no, he didn't ask yet. I'm Emily, by the way."

"Nice to meet you," Charlie said. "Come on." Charlie grabs Emily by the arm and they hide behind a locker next to where Sam and Casey are standing.

"So…," Sam said. "That algebra test was hard, eh?"

"Algebra?" Charlie whispered to Emily, who rolls her eyes.

"Yeah," Casey replied. "Did you here that there's a dance next Friday?"

"Yeah," Sam said. "I was wondering…maybe…if maybe…you wanted to be my date?"

"Ha ha!" Charlie whispered triumphantly, and gives Emily a high five.

"Umm," Casey said. "Sure!"

"Cool," Sam said. "Bye, then."

"Bye," Casey said as Sam walked away.

"Victory!" Charlie cried out.

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That night, Derek logged on to his IM account, hoping Charlie was online. He wanted to ask her to the dance, but he never seemed to be able to get her alone. To his great pleasure, she was online.

_**TripleD: **hey Charlie. How's it going?_

_**ArgentinaChica76: **hey Mr. Venturi. I'm good and u?_

_**TripleD: **Good, good. _

_**ArgentinaChica76: **I was hoping we could start filming after school on Wednesday. Does that work for u?_

_**TripleD: **yeah that's fine. Did u hear there's a dance next Friday?_

_**ArgentinaChica76: **yeah. Dances r way lame._

_**TripleD: **u think so? _

_**ArgentinaChica76: **yeah. And plus even if I wanted to I can't. _

_**TripleD: **y not?_

_**ArgentinaChica76: **cuz the dance is for sophomores only. Unless ur a sophomore's date._

_**TripleD: **well I happen to be a sophomore…_

_**ArgentinaChica76: **r u trying to imply that I should go with u, Mr. Venturi?_

_**TripleD: **perhaps…;) _

_**ArgentinaChica76: **what about all those girls who want to go with u?_

_**TripleD: **who says I want to go with any of them?_

_**ArgentinaChica76: **u want to go with me? Derek, it's just… I don't think of u in that way…_

_**TripleD: **woow…me neither…I mean we can go as friends…_

_**ArgentinaChica76: **oh…oops…its just…Casey said…_

_**TripleD: **what did Casey say?_

_**ArgentinaChica76: **well she said that u liked my as more than a friend…_

_**TripleD: **don't listen to her. She doesn't know what she's talking about. _

_**ArgentinaChica76: **oh…okay then…_

_**TripleD: **so u'll go with me?_

_**ArgentinaChica76: **sorry but I told u I don't do dances. _

_**TripleD: **and I don't make friends with girls. People try new things. How about this: if u don't have fun, I'll buy u a fudge sundae. _

_**ArgentinaChica76: **with peanuts and a cherry?_

_**TripleD: **sure._

_**ArgentinaChica76: **a jumbo sized?_

_**TripleD: **yeah. _

_**ArgentinaChica76: **fine. _

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	7. To Go or Not To Go, That is the Question

To Go or Not To Go, That is the Question

**Disclaimer: **I do not own life with Derek…blah blah blah…

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"Oh my god," Casey said as she walked up to Charlie on Tuesday morning. "I heard the most awful rumour from Cassidy DeLeo."

"Really," Charlie said. "What about?"

"That you were going to the Sophomore Dance with Derek," Casey said. "But you would never do that, right? You're the only girl in the school who sees him for who he really is. Besides me, of course. Right?"

"You're half right…" Charlie said, looking down at her feet.

"What do you mean?" Casey said, folding her arms.

"Well," Charlie said, fiddling with the zipper on her sweater, never making eye contact with Casey. "Derek might have…sort of…maybe…asked me to the dance…and I might have…maybe…kinda…said yes?"

"WHAT!?!?" Casey yelled, stopping dead on her tracks. "YOU SAID YES?!? I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY FRIEND!! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!! I'M NEVER TALKING TO YOU AGAIN!!"

"Casey, wait—" Charlie began, but it was too late. Casey had already vanished down the hall.

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"Hey Charlie," Derek said as he approached her locker at the end of that day. "So for next Friday, I was thinking—"

"Listen Derek," Charlie interrupted. "I'm sorry, but I can't go to the dance with you."

"What?" Derek said. "Why?"

"Cause Casey won't talk to me ever again if I do."

"Who cares about Casey?" Derek said.

"I do," Charlie said. "Casey's my best friend at this school…I can't lose her…I'm sorry…But you'll be okay right? You can find another girl to go with you…"

"Yeah…" Derek said sadly. "I'll be okay…yeah…"

"So you want a ride home?" Charlie asked.

"No…It's okay…I gotta go to the library…" Derek said as he walked away.

"Okay," Charlie yelled in his direction. "Bye, then. And Derek?"

"Yeah?" Derek yelled back.

"I really am sorry."

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"Do you enjoy ruining my life?" Casey asked Derek that evening at dinner.

"What?" Derek said.

"You asked Charlie to the dance just to make me mad, right? You knew it would get under my skin."

"You're going to the dance with Charlie?" Edwin asked. "Alright bro!" He raised his hand to high five Derek, but Derek didn't budge.

"It doesn't matter anymore," Derek said. "She doesn't want to go with me anymore. I'm not hungry. I'm gonna do some homework."

Derek didn't leave his room the whole night.

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That night, Charlie had trouble sleeping. She couldn't help thinking about Derek. She felt so bad about letting him down like that. But why? They were going as friends, right? She didn't think of him that way. He was so arrogant, thinking that he owned the school. At least that's what Casey said. Derek was always really sweet to her. But it could just be a façade… how could she know? But more importantly, why did she care?

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"Um," Charlie said the next afternoon, as the whole cast was gathered in the gym. "Hey guys. We're gonna start with the first scene. Everybody in the first 3 scenes go get into costume and makeup. Everybody else, you can stay in here and practice. "

The whole cast piled out of the gym; Charlie and Derek were the last ones.

"Hey," Charlie said, smiling. "How's it going? I haven't seen you all day."

"I'm good," Derek said. "Casey talking to you again?"

"Yeah," Charlie said.

"That's good."

"Yeah," Charlie said. "Well, I better go and…"

"Yeah," Derek said.

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"Hey Derek," Casey said after school that day. "Do you like Charlie?"

"I don't like girls, remember? Girls like me."

"Come on," Casey said, rolling her eyes. "You skipped super yesterday. To do homework."

"Fine," Derek said. "I do. You happy now?"

"No," Casey said. "I'm not being very fair. If you wanna go to the dance with her, then go."

"What?" Derek said. "Why are you doing this?"

"Cause I'm sorta going to the dance with Sam," Casey said.

"You are such a hypocrite," Derek said.

"I know," Casey said. "I'm sorry."

"Whatever," Derek said, going into his room. He picked up the phone and quickly dialled Charlie's number.

"Come on, pick up…" Derek said to himself.

"_Hello?" _Charlie said on the other line.

"Hey Charlie…" Derek said.

"_Oh hey Derek. What's up?"_

"Do you wanna go to the dance with me, again?" Derek said.

_"Derek…I told you that Casey…"_

"Casey said it was okay. Cause she's going with Sam, turns out. If you still want to…"

"_Sure…I guess so…" _


	8. Our Night To Shine

**Heyy people. Terribly sorry for the super long wait. My computer finally bit the dust, and I only managed to get a new one last week. So here's the next instalment of "The Not-So-New Girl"! Enjoy, and don't forget to REVIEW!**

* * *

Our Night To Shine

"Oh my gosh, " Casey said, gushing over the dress she was trying on. The dance was in four days, and Casey, Charlie and Emily were out shopping for dresses. "This dance is gonna be the best ever!"

"Do you realize your IQ just dropped 5 points by saying that?" Charlie said, smiling.

Casey rolled her eyes. "She's kidding, Case," Emily said.

"You look stellar, " Charlie said.

"Really," Emily added.

Casey smiled. "Thanks, you guys," she said, twirling around, causing the flowing pink fabric to move with her. The dress was a halter-style in fuchsia pink. "I think this is the one."

"You said that about the last 10 dresses," Emily said, sighing.

"Actually," Charlie corrected. "12 dresses." Casey glared at her. "But whose counting?" she quickly added.

"You know what?" Casey said. "I'm gonna go pay for it right now, just to prove you guys wrong." She went back into the changing room. A couple of minutes later, she came out and went to pay for the dress.

"You're up, Charlie," Casey said, as she returned, clutching a big blue bag. "You're the only one who hasn't gotten a dress. Unless you're bailing? Derek won't be too happy."

"I'm not bailing," Charlie retorted. "It's just…"

"Spill," Emily and Casey said simultaneously.

"Jake Cloves asked me if I would go with him to the dance," Charlie said.

"And you like him?" Casey asked.

"Yeah," Charlie said. "He's super sweet. And really smart. He's in my Junior AP math class and he's a sophomore!"

"Did he ask you before or after Derek asked you to go with him?" Emily asked.

"After," Charlie said, looking at her feet.

"And you said…" Casey asked.

"I didn't say yes or anything," Charlie said. "I told him I'd think about it."

"But what about Derek?" Emily asked. "You can't just tell him you don't want to go with him because you got a better offer."

"She'll just have to let him down easy," Casey said. "Right, Charlie?"

"He won't mind, right?" Charlie said. "I told him we could go as friends. I'm sure there are tons of other girls that want to go with him!"

"But he doesn't want to go with any of them!" Emily said loudly. "He wants to go with you! You can't do this to him!"

"I'm sorry Em," Charlie said. "I don't like him that way. He knows that. I'm sure he'll understand."

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"Hey," Charlie called out to Derek the next morning at school.

"Oh God," Emily said, putting her hand over her eyes. "I can't watch."

"What's up?" Derek said, casually leaning against his locker.

"We're going to the dance as friends, right?" Charlie said.

"Yeah," Derek said. Friends. That word made him wince.

"So as my friend, you wouldn't mind if I decided to with someone else?" Charlie said, hoping his feelings weren't hurt. "Like as a date, since we're not, you know, going on a date?"

"Um, yeah, I guess," Derek said. Her words felt like daggers in his stomach. "It's cool."

"You sure?" Charlie asked.

"Of course," Derek said. "We're just friends, right?"

"I knew you'd understand!" Charlie said, hugging him. "Thanks!" she added, as she jogged away, and then stopped where Jake Cloves was standing. She said something to him Derek couldn't make out, and then went to join Casey and Emily.

"Yeah," Derek thought aloud, heartbroken. "I understand. I just lost the perfect girl." And he walked away.

"I can't believe you actually just dumped Derek Venturi," Emily said, shaking her head.

"I can't believe Derek Venturi just got dumped," Casey said, smiling. "Finally."

"I didn't dump him." Charlie said angrily. "He isn't-–wasn't—my boyfriend, okay?" She stormed off towards the math class as the bell rang.

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"How do I look?" Casey said for what seemed like the 76th time. She was tugging at her dress and poking at her hair, which was in a clean bun on the top of her head. It was the night of the dance, and the girls were prepping in Casey's room. Their dates (Sam, Jake and some guy from Emily's homeroom class named Cory Michaels) were going to meet at the school at eight. It was seven thirty.

"Awesome," Emily said, who was wearing a pale green dress with green metallic ballet flats. Casey and Charlie had managed to straighten her hair, but it still had a hint of wave in it.

"Like the other seventy-five time you asked," Charlie said, who was wearing a dark purple strapless number with matching wedge-heeled sling-backs. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her bangs were clipped back (they formed a kind of bump-like shape on the top of her head), and the hair that was flowing out of her ponytail was curled.

"I'm nervous, okay?" Casey said, walking towards her bed and put on her pink heels.

"Yeah," Charlie said.

"Girls!" Mrs. McDonald yelled from downstairs. "It's time to go!"

They made their way downstairs. Derek was already waiting, wearing a black suit and a blue shirt. His jaw dropped when he saw Charlie. She looked incredible, even more than usual. He didn't know that it was possible.

"Wow," he said as they all climbed into the car. "You look really…very…wow."

"Thanks," Charlie said, glowing. "You don't look too bad yourself. So, whom are you going with?"

"I decided not to restrict myself to one girl," Derek said, in his usual cocky tone. "That wouldn't be fair to all the pretty ladies."

"Of course," Charlie said, rolling her eyes. The Real Derek had reared its ugly head.

The rest of the drive was quite. Once they got there, Casey immediately went onto the dance floor with Sam. Emily and Cory followed suit. Charlie and Jake talked by the punch bowl for a couple of minutes, and then danced. Charlie couldn't help watching Derek dancing with what looked like 3 girls. But for some reason, he didn't seem to be enjoying himself. After a while, Jake said he had to go to the bathroom and left. Charlie stood against the wall alone for a couple of minutes until Derek came to join her.

"Where'd Jake go?" Derek asked.

"The bathroom," Charlie replied. "You having fun with all those girls?"

"It's not that bad," Derek said, grinning.

"I'm gonna go find Jake," Charlie said.

"Let me join you," Derek said. "I've gotta use the little men's room anyway."

Charlie laughed and they walked towards the bathroom. "So are yo—" she began but stopped dead in her tracks. Derek followed her gaze and suddenly was come over by a wave of incontrollable anger. There was Jake Cloves; Charlie supposed date, with his tongue down Tiffany Collins' throat.

"That son of a---" Derek began, but stopped when he saw, out of the corner of his eye, that Charlie was crying. Jake quickly realized that she was there, broke away from Tiffany, but before he could offer an explanation, Charlie took off towards the exit.

"Charlie!" Derek yelled, chasing after her. "Wait up!"

He went outside and saw Charlie sitting on the steps, her face buried in her hands. "Hey," he said softly, kneeling down beside her. "It's okay."

"No it's not," she said, looking up at him. "I'm such a loser. How could I not have seen through his flimsy façade?"

"You are far from being a loser," Derek said, putting his arm around her shoulder. "It's his loss. If he'd rather be with a cheap slut like Tiffany Collins, then he's not nearly as smart as he leads on."

Charlie smiled sheepishly. "You know," she began. "Contrary to popular belief, you're not such a bad guy when you want to be."

"Popular belief?" Derek said. "More like Casey's belief."

"Honestly," Charlie said. "I thought you were a jerk at first. All cocky and stuff."

"Honestly, " Derek replied. "I was. I kind of still am. You just bring out the good side of me." He smiled.

"Good to know I have that effect on people," Charlie said, smiling, then got up. "I think I'm gonna go home now. I only live a couple of blocks from here."

"Let me walk you home," Derek said. "You shouldn't have to walk alone after what happened."

"Thanks," Charlie said. They walked off into the dimly lit street. They began talking about school, which turned into a conversation about anything and everything. About fifteen minutes later, they arrived at Charlie's house.

"This is where I get off," Charlie said, turning to face Derek.

"Yeah," Derek said, who found himself slowly getting closer to her.

"Thanks for everything," Charlie said, also approaching him.

"No problem," Derek said, now standing less than an inch from her face. He slowly leaned in to kiss her, and Charlie found herself not trying to back away. When his lips brushed hers, her initial reaction was to pull away, but she was overcome by what seemed like a magnetic force towards his lips. The kiss seemed to last forever, but Charlie was pulled back into reality, quickly pulled away, and scampered into her house, leaving Derek standing on her porch, smiling from ear to ear.

"Good night," he said aloud.


	9. If Only Life Was Like A Movie

If Only Life Was Like A Movie

_This is not good, this is not good, this is soo not good…_Those were the only thoughts that crossed Charlie's mind over the weekend. _She _kissed Derek VenturiShe_ kissed _Derek Venturi. She kissed_ Derek Venturi!_ The worst part was, deep down, she sort of enjoyed it. The thought of seeing him that morning was giving her a headache. _I guess we'll simply have to avoid him. _

"Charlie?" Casey's voice said, pulling Charlie out of her daze. "You listening?"

"Yeah," Charlie said sheepishly. "You, Sam, your porch, mushy stuff, ya da ya da..."

"Are you okay?" Emily asked. "You seem a little…off."

"I'm good," Charlie said. Casey and Emily stared back, unconvinced. "Really." She suddenly spotted Derek coming down the hall and her heart started racing. Had he seen her? "Sorry guys, I gotta go…gotta ask Mrs DiMarco about the…thing…in math…yeah…bye!" And Charlie scurried down the hall, in the complete opposite direction of Mrs DiMarco's classroom.

"Hey," Derek said, approaching Emily and Casey. "You guys seen Charlie?"

"She went that way," Emily said pointing in the direction Charlie had gone.

"Thanks," Derek said, and jogged away.

"I smell something fishy," Emily said.

"No, I smell something Derek-y," Casey said.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay, spill," Casey said, slamming her lunch tray on the table where Charlie was enjoying her meatball sub.

"Come again?" Charlie said.

"You and Derek have been acting weird all day," Casey said. "And I want to know why! Right now!"

"Look," Charlie said. "It's nothing, okay? Just a little misunderstanding between us. Nothing to worry about."

"Well," Casey retorted. "Derek's been acting really arrogant today, more than usual. So whatever the problem is, could you fix, soon?"

"Gotcha buddy," Charlie said. "You ready for your big scene with Sam after school?"

"Oh my gosh," Casey said, blushing. "That's today?"

"Yup," Charlie replied, grinning. "We got so much done last week, and I managed to edit a whole bunch on the weekend. If we kick it into overdrive this week and this weekend, we should be able to wrap up filming!"

"That's great!" Casey said, as she took a bite of her lasagna. "When's the festival?"

"Two weeks from Friday," Charlie said. "I think we should be ready by then."

"Cool," Casey said.

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"Okay people! Places everyone! Five, four, three, two, one…ACTION!" Charlie yelled. The school day was finally over, and the whole cast and crew were gathered in the gym. They were filming the final scene of the movie.

"What made you change your mind?" Sam said to Casey.

"I realised how naïve I was being," Casey replied. "At my old school, everybody liked me because I they thought I was pretty. They didn't care what kind of person I was. It never really mattered to them. Not like it does to you."

"In that case, would you like to dance?" Sam said, smiling, putting his hand out. Charlie pointed at a girl who was standing next to the sound system, and she turned it on. The Plain White T's "Hey There Delilah" started playing.

"_Hey there Delilah  
What's it like in New York City?  
I'm a thousand miles away  
But girl tonight you look so pretty  
Yes you do  
Times Square can't shine as bright as you  
I swear it's true."_

"I'm sorry about the way I acted," Casey said as they waltzed around the gym, through the extras, through the other couples.

"It's fine," Sam said, still smiling.

"It's really not," Casey said. "I blew you off, and you're the only one whoever really saw me for me."

"_Hey there Delilah  
Don't you worry about the distance  
I'm right there if you get lonely  
Give this song another listen  
Close your eyes  
Listen to my voice it's my disguise  
I'm by your side_

Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
What you do to me.

_Hey there Delilah  
I know times are getting hard  
But just believe me girl  
Someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar  
We'll have it good  
We'll have the life we knew we would  
My word is good."_

"I'm over it, really," Sam said.

"You really sure?" Casey said.

"_Hey there Delilah  
I've got so much left to say  
If every simple song I wrote to you  
Would take your breath away  
I'd write it all  
Even more in love with me you'd fall  
We'd have it all_

Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me."

"Positive," Sam replied.

"I really don't deserve a friend like you, Dylan," Casey said.

"You really don't," Sam said, laughing.

"_A thousand miles seems pretty far  
But they've got planes and trains and cars  
I'd walk to you if I had no other way  
Our friends would all make fun of us  
and we'll just laugh along because we know  
That none of them have felt this way  
Delilah I can promise you  
That by the time we get through  
The world will never ever be the same  
And you're to blame."_

"You can make it up to me," Sam said.

"How's that?" Casey said.

"Don't pull away," Sam said.

"What?" Casey said. Suddenly (well, actually, not that suddenly, it was in the script) Sam leaned in and kissed Casey. Charlie saw, out of the corner of her eye, Derek put his hand over his eyes, and she laughed. But Casey and Sam hadn't seemed to notice, because they kept on kissing as the music played on.

"_Hey there Delilah  
You be good and don't you miss me  
Two more years and you'll be done with school  
And I'll be making history like I do  
You'll know it's all because of you  
We can do whatever we want to  
Hey there Delilah here's to you  
This ones for you_

Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
What you do to me."

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"Well that was gross," Derek said from behind Charlie. They managed to film the kissing scene, and a couple more. Charlie was heading to her locker to get her school bag.

"But," he said, grinning. "It gave me an idea…" He leaned in to kiss her, but she quickly put her hands up to her face and Derek's lips found themselves pressed against her palm. "What's wrong? I thought…when we…on your porch…"

"I'm so sorry, Derek," Charlie said sadly. "It was an accident. It was a mistake. I got caught up in the moment. _You _kissed _me. _Sorry."

"But you kissed back!" Derek yelled.

"Sshh!" Charlie said, waving her hands warningly. "Look, I don't want this to ruin our friendship, okay? Can we just pretend like it never happened?" And she walked away.

"I'm so sorry. Really."

But sadly, her words of pity could not mend his broken heart.


	10. When Your Heart Stops Beating

**Heyy guys! I'm really sorry I haven't updated in such a long time!! I was having a MAJOR writer's block. But one day last week, an idea went like WHAM! and hit me square in the forehead! So here it is, read and enjoy! (and don't forget to REVIEW, cuz it'll prevent future writer's blocks, so I'll update more often!)**

**PS I got the title from an amazing song called "When Your Heart Stops Beating" by +44. So it's not mine. **

* * *

When Your Heart Stops Beating

"So are you sure you fixed whatever the problem was with you and Derek?" Casey asked.

"Yeah," Charlie said on the other line. "I guess so. Why do you ask?"

"It's just…" Casey said. "He's been acting kind of strange lately. He's not being loud and obnoxious and disgusting."

"And that's a bad thing?" Charlie said, laughing.

"No," Casey replied. "It's just very un-Derek-like."

"Well I don't know what's wrong," Charlie lied. "Maybe he's just changing."

"I doubt that," Casey said. "Well, I got to go. See you tomorrow."

"Bye," Charlie said, and hung up. She fell back onto her bed. It had been nearly 6 days since she had spoken to Derek; the conversation that seemed to have ended their friendship. He was a pompous jerk, right? He didn't believe in having one girlfriend at a time and he certainly didn't care about anything more than looks. He was everything that irritated Charlie, yet somehow pushing him away was one the hardest things she had ever done. She could feel the tears forming in her eyes. Why couldn't she just go back? Back to the time where she had never came here, when she still had a family. She missed them. Everyday. Always. She loved being with her uncle, but this was one of those moments she really needed her mom. Tears trickled down her face, and she didn't even try to hold them back. Charlie just lied there, in the dark, staring at the ceiling, wondering what she was going to do next.

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"Hey," Derek said to Charlie as he approached her locker the following day after school. "I was just wondering how you were doing with the editing."

"Good," Charlie said, avoiding eye contact. "I'm done, I've just got to add some music."

"Oh, okay then," he said, looking at his feet, and walked away.

"Wait!" Charlie yelled after him. "Please don't go."

Derek turned around. "What's wrong with us?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know," Derek said, looking her in the eyes. "I like you, you clearly don't like me. Except for the you kissing me thing. So I have no idea why I would assume that you do."

"Look," Charlie said. "Everything has gotten really complicated the last couple of months. I'm not really sure of anything anymore. But we have to stay friends, okay? Friends are really all I have left."

"Okay," Derek said softly. "Sorry." And he walked away.

Charlie turned around and walked down the deserted hall, towards the library. "Charlie!" a male voice yelled from behind her. She turned around to see Jake Cloves running to catch up with her. "Wait up!"

_Great, _Charlie thought. _What does this jerk want now? _"What do you want?" Charlie said angrily, folding her arms across her chest.

"I need to talk to you," he said.

"What about?" Charlie asked.

"About what happened at the dance," Jake replied. "I'm really sorry about what I did. I don't know what came over me. I was the world's biggest jerk."

"Can't argue with you there," Charlie snapped.

"Look," he said. "I really like you. Can I have another chance? How about Friday?"

"How about two weeks from…you-made-out-with-another-girl-while-we-were-on-a-date-you-asshole!" Charlie yelled.

"Listen!" Jake yelled, furious. "I've apologized already! What else do you want from me?"

"I want you to leave me alone!" Charlie replied angrily. She turned around, but before she could walk away, Jake grabbed her the arm and slammed her against a locker.

"Don't act like you don't want me," he said, with an evil smile.

"Get off me!" Charlie screamed, and tried to break free, but his hold on her was too strong.

"I see you with Derek Venturi all the time," Jake said, still smiling. "And we all know what kind of girls hang off of him. Why do you think I asked you to the dance? I was just looking for a quick hook up with some easy chick."

"I guess you got that with Tiffany Collins," Charlie spat, still trying to wriggle free of his grip.

"Yup," Jake said. "And now I'm going to get that with you." He pressed arm against her throat and his lips against hers. Gasping for air, Charlie bit down hard on his lower lip.

"OW!" he yelled. "You stupid slut!" He raised his hand to strike her across the face, but was pulled off Charlie by something. Charlie slid to the floor, coughing. She looked up to see Derek sitting on top of Jake Cloves, delivering blow after blow to his face. Jake managed to Derek off of him, got up and ran down the hall.

Derek went over to where Charlie was sitting, breathing heavily. "Are you okay?" he asked, sitting down beside her.

"Yeah," she said, her voice shaky.

"He's never going to come near you again," Derek said, taking her hand in his. "I promise."

"Th-thank you," Charlie said, squeezing the hand of her saviour.


	11. The Heart Knows What The Mind Knows Not

**_Heyy guys! Sorry for the long wait. I've been swamped with schoolwork and stuff. I should be updating more frequently now. So read and review!_ **

_**PS Happy Holidays!!**_

The Heart Knows What The Mind Knows Not

Over the next few days, the news that Jake Cloves had attacked the new girl spread like wildfire. There were, of course, many "variations" of the story. One girl on the swim team swore she saw Jake actually put a gun to Charlie's head. A boy from the art club said that Derek had beaten Jake into a coma. Though many people didn't know the real truth about what happened that afternoon, Charlie and Derek did. And they were the ones that had to deal with it.

"Apparently we've got to meet with the school board," Derek told Charlie one morning, 4 days after the incident, at school.

"Great," Charlie said sarcastically. "I've got to relive it again for another room full of people."

"Hey," Derek said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I'm here for you. If you want to…talk about it. Or whatever."

"You never striked me as the kind of guy who did the whole listening-to-girls-talk-about-their-feelings thing," Charlie said, half smiling.

"Well, I've never had a close friend who's been…in this situation," Derek replied.

" 'Close friend'?" Charlie said. "Now we're close friends?"

"I won't tell anybody if you don't," Derek said, grinning.

"Yeah," Charlie said, half-smiling. "So when's this meeting with the school board?"

"Tomorrow at four-thirty," Derek replied. "And our parents have to be present."

"Oh God," Charlie said unhappily. "My uncle cannot come."

"Why not?"

"Cause he shouldn't have to hear all the details," Charlie said, looking away.

"Come on," Derek said sympathetically. "He's your family. He needs to know so he can help you through it…wait…you have told him, right?"

"Uhh…" Charlie said, looking at her feet.

"You haven't told him?" Derek said. "Why didn't you tell him?"

"Why does he need to know?" Charlie said, holding back tears. "It's not like he's my dad or anything."

"Oh," Derek said. "This is what this is about."

"What is what about?" Charlie said defensively.

"In a time like this, you just wish they were here, right?" Derek asked.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Charlie snapped.

"Fine," Derek said, raising his arms in defeat. "I'll go then."

Charlie watched him walk away and wondered why she had been so mean to him. Why she couldn't just let him in? After all, he had said that they were friends. How long had it been since she'd had any? Could it be actually sincere, or was it just some ploy to get her to fall for him? She looked up and saw a group of girls by the water fountain whispering and pointing at her. "Why don't you just take a picture!" she yelled in their direction, causing several pairs of eyes to turn towards her. "It'll last longer!" As Charlie turned around and stomped away, she could have sworn she heard the clicking of a camera phone.

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Derek looked around the room. _So this is where the elusive school board meeting room is,_ he thought. He had never been here before, considering all the times he'd been in trouble at school. He noticed that Charlie was already there. He was happy to see that her uncle was there with her. He, Nora and George went to sit next to them.

"Hey Derek," Charlie said nervously. "Hi Mr Venturi. Hey Mrs. McDonald. This is my uncle, Martin Adams."

The adults exchanged greetings and began chatting, giving Charlie a chance to talk to Derek before the meeting began. "I'm really sorry about the way I reacted the other day," she said, avoiding eye contact.

"It's fine," Derek said.

Charlie was about to reply when she noticed someone walk into the room, which suddenly felt cold and airless. Jake Cloves had walked in with his parents. Derek had apparently noticed this too; because Charlie saw him clench his fist and his face go dark and angry. Charlie felt something twinge in the pit of her stomach. It felt like something was burning a whole in her insides. _I need to get out of here, _she thought. She stood up and began to walk away, but was pulled back by Derek's hand on her wrist.

"Where are you going?" he whispered.

"I thought I…but I just…can't," Charlie said.

"Hey," he said, holding her hand in his. "He's not going to go anywhere near you ever again, okay? And if don't tell the board what he did, he won't get what he deserves."

"Okay," she said, sitting back down.

"Everyone, please sit down, the meeting is about to begin," Mrs. Miller, the president of the school board, said.

The room became deadly silent, and all eyes were on the the head table, which seated all the members on the school board. All eyes but those of Jake Cloves, who were glued on Charlie. When she noticed this, he licked his lips and winked at her. She quickly turned around and felt suddenly very nauseous and dizzy.

"Thank you everyone," Mrs Miller said. "Now, you all know why we are here. We are here to discuss the action which need to be taken against Mr. Jake Cloves for unacceptable behavior towards fellow student Ms. Charlie Martinez. Ms. Martinez, would you please rise?"

Charlie stood up, her hands shaking and her palms sweating. "Ms. Martinez, please tell us what happened on the afternoon of December the 4th."

"Well...," Charlie said, looking down at her shoes. "I...well..."

"Ms Martinez, I understand that this must be difficult for you, but you do understand that your testimony has a large part in the punishment we will give Mr. Cloves?" Mrs. Miller said sternly.

Charlie looked back at her friends and uncle sitting behind her. She knew that they were here to support her, to defend her and to protect her. She could not let them down. She could not let herself down. But she knew no one could know her darkest secret. The part she had tried to black out of her memories.

"I was heading towards the library after school to return some books," Charlie said, swallowing hard. "...And Jake wanted to talk to me, but i didn't want to talk to him."

"What did Mr Cloves want to talk about, Ms Martinez?" Mrs. Miller asked patiently.

"Well," Charlie said. "He wanted to talk about what had happened at the dance. He had asked me to go with him, but then I caught him making out with this slu--I mean this girl named Tiffany Collins."

"I see," Mrs Miller said. Charlie could tell that she thought that she was being a silly teenager. Charlie hated that. "Please, continue."

"So I told him to leave me alone and I turned to walk away but he grabbed me and slammed me against the locker. He started saying all this crazy stuff and he..." She felt nauseous just thinking about what had happened next, but chose not to let it show. No one could ever find out. "He kissed me and choked me then Derek came and pulled him off of me. He saved me."

"Do you have any concrete proof to back these claims of violence against you, Ms Martinez?" Henry Rogers, a school board member, asked doubtfully.

"I was there!" Derek yelled angrily, getting up from his seat."I saw that bastard attack her!"

"Mr Venturi!" Mrs Miller said loudly. "Please take your seat! One more outburst like that, and I will be forced to ask you to leave! Now, Ms Martinez, please answer Mr Rogers' question."

Charlie suddenly felt as angry as Derek. "Claims? Claims?!? Why on earth would I make something like this up? I'm some poor little orphan who likes attention? I like pretending that lying cheating bastards attack people for no good reason? I have nothing to gain by making this up. And I've already lost everything I've ever had."

"Once again, Ms Martinez, do you have any concrete proof to back these claims of violence against you?" Mr Rogers said impatiently.

Charlie angrily rolled up her sleeves, exposing the purple bruise on her right wrist. "Is this enough proof for you? No? How about this?" She pulled down the collar of her turtle neck. She could see the board members staring at the bruise on her neck. The meeting continued on for another 30 minutes. The board talked to Derek, who thankfully backed up Charlie's story, because Jake Cloves seemed to deny it all.

"I didn't mean to hurt her," he said, trying to sound regretful. "I tried talking to her, but she hit me, and i defended myself. I know I can't prove that she hit me, but one of these bruises was because of her." He pointed to his black and blue face.

It took the board twenty minutes to make their decision. "Please, everyone, settle down," Mrs Miller said. "We have reached our decision. Mr. Cloves actions are unacceptable, but not as serious as the board was lead to believe. He will be suspended for 2 weeks."

"What?!?" Derek exclaimed. "That's bullshit! Did you not see what he did to her?!?"

"We have also decided," Mrs Miller continued, ignoring Derek's outburst. "That, due to his past offenses, and his very clear violent tendencies, that Mr. Venturi will also be suspended for 2 weeks. That is all."

Charlie felt her heart rise in her throat. Derek was suspended. And it was all her fault. Just because she couldn't face the truth.


	12. I'll Always Catch You When You Fall

**Heyy all you people out there in FanFiction Land! Here's the last (yes, it's the end) chapter of "The Not-So-New Girl". I had a blast writing it, and reading all your wonderful reviews! Thanks to you all for reading each chapter, and making my day a little brighter. Keep your eyes peeled for more stories by me (I'm in the process of writing a Hannah Montana fic, so look for that). **

Love,  
Charlee B.

Now on with the show!  


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I'll Always Catch You When You Fall

_"I want you to leave me alone!" Charlie replied angrily. She turned around, but before she could walk away, Jake grabbed her the arm and slammed her against a locker."Don't act like you don't want me," he said, with an evil smile."Get off me!" Charlie screamed, and tried to break free, but his hold on her was too strong."I see you with Derek Venturi all the time," Jake said, still smiling. "And we all know what kind of girls hang off of him. Why do you think I asked you to the dance? I was just looking for a quick hook up with some easy chick.""I guess you got that with Tiffany Collins," Charlie spat, still trying to wriggle free of his grip."Yup," Jake said. "And now I'm going to get that with you." He pressed arm against her throat and his lips against hers. She felt his hand creep slowly down her skirt... _

"Charlie?" a voice said coming from far away. Charlie's eyes snapped open and she saw her uncle standing in the doorway of her bedroom. "Were you sleeping?" 

"Ah," she said raising her head off her desk. "I was studying. I must of fell asleep."

"Oh ok," he replied. "Well, the phone's for you. It's Casey."

"Thanks," Charlie said, picking up the phone from her desk and pushing the 'talk' button.

"Hey Charlie?" Martin said. Charlie slowly lowered the phone and put her hand over the mouth piece.

"Yeah?"

"If you ever want to talk about what--"

"It's fine," she interrupted. "Really."

He walked away as Charlie picked up the phone again. "Hello?"

"Hey Charlie!" Casey said. "What's been going on? I haven't heard from you in a couple of days."

"Oh," Charlie said. "I've been just...around. Doing...things. You know, studying and whatever."

"Right," Casey said sarcastically. "I'll pretend I believe that. You've been acting really weird and distant ever since the meeting with the school board on Thursday. Is something wrong?"

"No," Charlie said awkwardly. "Nothing's wrong. It's all good."

"Well," Casey said. "You shouldn't feel bad about Derek getting suspended. With his record, it was bound to happen eventually."

"I don't feel guilty," Charlie snapped. "Why would I?'

"Okay then," Casey said. "You sound tired. I'm gonna go. I've got a date with Sam tonight. If you need anything, call me on my cell, ok?"

"Fine," Charlie said, hanging up without saying goodbye.

Casey was half right. Charlie had been acting weird and distant. But she was wrong about Charlie not needing to feel guilty about what happened. She was totally and completely to blame for it all. Why didn't she just tell the truth? She could have saved Derek so much grief. Jake would have gotten what he deserved. But the truth was so...humiliating. She knew the second she told the principal or anyone, everybody would know. And no one would ever treat her the same again. Even Derek. She knew he could never look at her the same way again. And she loved the way he looked at her. he seemed to have come a long way since the first time they met. She had try to blame the feeling in the pit of her stomach every time he smiled at her on indigestion, or nerves about an exam, but after what he did for her, after he saved her, her feelings for him became very clear. And this was how she was repaying him? By avoiding the truth? What kind of friend was she? What kind of human being was she for letting him take the fall for her mistake? Charlie threw herself of her bed, tears rolling down her cheeks, and tried to sleep with all these thoughts swimming in her head.

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It was Sunday morning, which was usually Derek's favorite day of the week. But not today. Tomorrow was going to be the start of his two week suspension. And Charlie hadn't spoken to him since Thursday. He knew something was bothering her. Did she feel responsible for his suspension? He knew she shouldn't. After all, it was his own fault. After every prank, every assignment he hadn't handed in, a suspension was bound to happen. It was also his fault what had happened to Charlie. If he had just told her how he felt, she would have never gone to the dance with that scumbag. But he wasn't the type of guy to admit he liked a girl. Really, really like a girl. But he wasn't the type of guy who did a lot of the things he had been doing lately. Everything seemed to be changing, ever since he met Charlie. She brought out a person in him he had never known. He had become a better person since he met her. But now he couldn't help her. Something was missing, something had been lost. He remembered the look in her eyes after the meeting on Thursday. All the sparkle, all the magic and the beauty, seemed to have vanished. And he felt so helpless knowing he couldn't bring it back.

"Derek?" Casey said, walking into his room.

"What?" Derek snapped.

"There's someone downstairs who wants to talk to you," Casey replied sharply.

"Who?"

"Charlie."

Derek quickly got up from his chair and ran down the stairs. There she was, sitting on his sofa. Just as she had a hundred times before. But somehow, this felt different.

"Hey," Charlie said.

"Hey," Derek said back, taking a seat beside her.

"I need to talk to you about something," Charlie said. Her voice was shaky, but she never broke eye contact.  
"Okay," Derek replied.

"I haven't slept since...since it happened," Charlie said. "And I know what I'm about to tell you is going to sound horrible...but I was up all night thinking about it...and well, I think I owe you that much."  
"Okay," Derek said again.

"There are," Charlie said nervously. "some details, about...that afternoon, that I never shared with the school board. Or with anybody. And I think if I tell someone, it might be easier to deal with. So here's the whole story..."

_"Listen!" Jake yelled, furious. "I've apologized already! What else do you want from me?""I want you to leave me alone!" Charlie replied angrily. She turned around, but before she could walk away, Jake grabbed her the arm and slammed her against a locker."Don't act like you don't want me," he said, with an evil smile."Get off me!" Charlie screamed, and tried to break free, but his hold on her was too strong."I see you with Derek Venturi all the time," Jake said, still smiling. "And we all know what kind of girls hang off of him. Why do you think I asked you to the dance? I was just looking for a quick hook up with some easy chick.""I guess you got that with Tiffany Collins," Charlie spat, still trying to wriggle free of his grip."Yup," Jake said. "And now I'm going to get that with you." He pressed arm against her throat and his lips against hers. She felt his hand creep slowly down her skirt. His fingers went places they shouldn't, and Charlie felt raw and exposed. She felt as though something was burning through her like acid and she had to fight back the urge to vomit. She tried to close her eyes and wait till he was done, but it seemed to go on forever. Gasping for air, Charlie bit down hard on his lower lip... _

When Charlie finally got through the whole story, her whole body was shaking and tears were streaming down her face. 

"I'm so sorry...I didn't tell...you before," Charlie said between sobs. "I was so...ashamed."

"Hey," Derek said, taking her into his arms. "It's okay."

She cried in his arms, crying out all the pain and solitude she had been feeling the last couple of days.

"But you still got suspended," she said, raising her head.

"It doesn't matter," Derek said. "I've got more time to help you through this."

Charlie slowly leaned closer to him and felt his lips on hers.

"I'm sorry," Derek said, pulling away. "That was out of line."

"Don't be," Charlie replied, wiping her face with her sleeve. She leaned in and kissed him, and everything felt right again, just like the first moment they met.

**THE END**


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